Improvement in furnaces for treating ores



analista an cada Y Letters Patent No. 112,698, dated March 14, 1871; antedated March 7, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN FURNACES l-'O'R TREATING CRES, &c.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the sazhe.

I, WILLIAM ENNIs, of'Philadelphia, countyof Bhiladelphia, State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Treating Ores, 85o., of which the following is a specification.

` 'Nature and Object of the Invention.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing. l

Figure -1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a furnace wherewith to carry out my invention, and

Figure 2, a transverse section of the same on the line l 2, lig. 1. 4

General Description.

A A represent the side walls;

B B, the end walls; and

C, the roof of the furnace.

The lower portion of the furnace is occupied by the fire-place F, its grate-bars a, and ash -pit b, and above the arched top c of' the fire-place is a chamber, H, which likewise occupies the entire length and breadth of the furnace.

The chamber H communicates freely with the interiorof the re-place through a number-of openings, c', in the arc-h e, and access can he had to the said chamber from the exterior of the furnace by means of two or more openings, g g, formed in each of the side walls A at afpoint immediately above the arch e.

,lhe upper portion of the furnace is divided, by a transverse vertical partition, 7:-, into two compartments or ovens, J and J', whichare separated from the chamber H by a horizontal, but slightly arched, partition, t, the edges of the latter being ashort distance fro m' the side Walls of the furnace, 'so as to form longitudinal passages It k, which afford free communication between the said upper compartments of the furnace.

-and the intermediate chamber H.

At the top ofthe ovenJ is anopening, Z, surmounted by a valve or damper, m, and at the top of the oven J is a similar opening, snrmounted by a damper, m', and both of these dampers are adapted to sand joints, or are otherwise tightly fitted over their respective openings, and are both operated by levers p, or equivaient devices, in such a manner that they can be readily opened and closed either simultaneously or independ- The com )artments-J and J' are 'also furnished at points close to the roof C, with perforated steam or water-pipes r.-

When the above furnace is to be used for roasting ores for the purpose of depriving them of sulphur or other volatile matter, the dampers m and in are removed or raised suciently to permit the ore to be introduced through the openings l into the ovens J and J', which are both filled nearly to the top, as shown in the drawing.

The ore when thus introduced into the ovens J and J will also pass through the longitudinal passagesk 7a into the intermediate chamber H, falling upon the top of -the fire-place arch e, and arranging itself by its own gravity in about the manner shown in lig. 2, so as to leave a central longitudinal passage extending through the said chamber.

Vheu the furnace has been thus filled with ore a re is kindled upon the grate a, and' one ofthe dampers, the damper m., for instance, of the oven J, is closed, while the opposite damper m of the oven J is opened to its full extent. The openings y of the chamber H are also sealed up, and steam or water is forced through the perforations of the pipe or pipes 1 onto the mass of ore 4in the chamber J, when the following operations will take place:

The products 4of combustion from the fire-place will pass through all of the openings eof the arch e into the chamber' H, and will circulate among and speedily heat the masses of ore arranged' along the sides of the said chamber; The partition t will also become heated, as will also the masses ot' ore contained in the oven J, to a sufficient extent, at least, to vaporize the water and release a portion of the gases, so that a downward current will be created toward the chamber H, as indicated by the arrows in h'g. 1.

The great volume of the heat, however, together with these vapors and gases, which will become ignited on entering the chamberH, pass upward through the mass of ore contained in othe chamber J and escape nallythrough the opening l in the top of the latter.

The ore in the chamber J' is uniformly heated by this intimate contact of the products of combustion,

and as soon as the heat is deemed suiiiciently intense the damper 'm' is closed and the damper m opened, while steam or water is cnt' off from the oven J, but is turned on to the pipe or pipes fr of the oren J'. This willimmediately reverse the operation, and will cause the heat to pass upward through the partiallyheated ore in the oven J and escape from the opening in the top of thc latter. f

The reversing of the dampers, however, efectsthe most complete change in the oven J', for. the ore in the latter, being highly heated, is in a most favorable condition for being deprived of volatile matter, such as sulphur', Ste., and the steam or water which enters this oven through the pipes lr becomes decomposed byl contact with the heated ore, oxdizes the same, and is a most effective agent in freeing the ore of the said volatile mattei'. v

, The formation of these gases in thc'oven J produces a strong downward current, and the said gases on entering the chamber H are immediately ignited and pass upward through the oven J to aid the products of combustion from the fue] on the grate in heating the ore contained in the said oven.

This method of utilizing the volatile and other gases, withdrawn from one mass of ore to aid in treating an adjacent ma'ss, forms a most-important feature of my invention, as it effects a great saving of fuel when the furnace is in full heat.

The ore contained inthe chamber H being exposed to more intense heat than that in the ovens will not require so long a time to` be deprived of its volatile matters, and may be removed from time to time through the openings g g in the sides of the furnace. i

lhe ore when sufficiently treated can be also removed from one oven through these openings g without interrupting or interfefing with the heating of a mass of ore in the opposite oven, so that the operations can be conducted continuously and alternately with very little loss of heat.

The above furnace, although designed especially for roasting ores, will be found very useful for dcsulphurizing coal to be used in smelting furnaces, or for drying peat and other fuel to be used in' the fire-place l1` or elsewherel In desulphurizing coal or drying fuel the operations are conducted precisely as above described, except that the heat required is not so intense, and the material when snfliciently treated can be withdrawn through the openings g g, and the ovens recharged through the openings Z Z, just as with the o re.

Although l have referred to two ovens, J and J', only, to be worked alternately, it will be evident that three, four, or even a greater number of ovens communicating with each other-aud with a tire-place below, buthaving independet valves or` dampers above, can

in some cases be employed to advantage without departing from the main features of iny invention.

It is important in constructing the furnace that the longitudinal passages 7; k and openings e of the arch e should be arranged in respect to each other in about the manner illustrated in the drawing, or, in other words, hso that the ore, coal, 0r other granular material as it escapes through the said passages and Ibecomes piled upon the arch shall have no tendency to escape through the said openings into the fire-place.

It will be seen that the gas which is evolved bythe action of the heat on the material within the closed chambers is not discharged from thc latter by any artificial blast, but that it issues from each chamber when its volume increases so that it cannot be c'ontained within the same.

Claims.

l. The chambers J J', with their steam-pipes fr, openings h Z, and covers m arranged in respect to the chamber H, communicating with a vtire-place, F, substantially as described.

2. The openings ein the arch e, arranged in respect to the passages lr of the partition t, substantially in the manner described.

3. rlhe combination of the [ire-place F, arch e with its openings e', partition 'i with its passages k, and two or more chambers, J and J.

' 4. The chambers J and J', communicating with each other and with a lire-place below, but having independent valves or dainpers above, substantially as set forth.

5. The openings g, arranged in the side walls A in respect to the partitions e and t', substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM ENNIS.

Witnesses Louis BoswELL, HARRY SMlTH. 

